Academy of YorkA.O.Y

Academy of York, which also writes its name as A.O.Y, is a private college based in Randburg, Johannesburg. It was established in 2006 and describes itself as a business and skills college for working adults. The college is accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations as a Skills Development Provider, and it names FASSET, the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, the South African Board for People Practices and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants among the other bodies it is accredited with.

All teaching happens by distance learning. Students study from home at their own pace, using learning materials the college sends them, with video lessons, online lectures, course coordinators and regular webinars for support. Many programmes come in two versions, a standard distance version and an online version, with the same qualification and level. There are no lecture venues; the Randburg address is the college office.

The course list covers accounting and bookkeeping, business administration, coaching and mentoring, education and training, facilities management, health and safety, human resource management, information technology, management, marketing, project management and supply chain management. Programmes range from short learning programmes and occupational skills programmes to part qualifications, full occupational certificates and an ICB national diploma, from NQF Level 4 up to NQF Level 6. Occupational certificates end with an external final exam, called the EISA, written at an approved assessment centre, and many include a compulsory period of work experience at an approved workplace. ICB programmes use ICB material and end in ICB exams, and students register with the ICB separately.

Entry requirements are set per course and published on each course page. Many NQF Level 5 occupational certificates ask for a matric, an NCV or another NQF Level 4 qualification, while some ICB programmes need no accounting background.

The college publishes no fixed intake dates. A student registers by sending a signed application form, a copy of their ID, proof of income, a bank statement and proof of payment of the registration fee, after which the study material is sent out.

Fees are published per course on the college's own site, with a choice between a once-off payment and a monthly payment plan. The college runs its own bursary programme that reduces the course fee for students who qualify, and employers can sponsor staff. ICB membership and exam fees, and EISA exam fees, are paid separately from the course fee.